The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master

Write better, cleaner, more maintainable code. Learn how to manage your projects and focus on shipping your product. With insight that covers the gamut of software development from low level to management
this one is a must have for anyone involved in this industry.

The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development

Highly recommended! Read my full review.

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction

Another classic "software construction" book. Sharpen your saw with timeless information that can be applied to any project in any language. Less bugs, more productivity, more programmer happiness.

Coders at Work

This one is different. Written as a set of interview transcripts with 15 legendary industry giants, this book is a fantastic insight into how some of the great minds think. It's inspiring to hear it from the source, must have!

Programming Clojure

A developer should learn at least one new language a year. This year that language should be Clojure. Clojure is a dynamic, general purpose, language targeting the Java virtual machine and designed for multi-threaded use. It's growing popularity, ability to leverage the Java standard library, and its multi-threaded nature make this a must have.

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering

Another classic. Primarily discusses project management from the perspective of Fred Brooks and his experiences at IBM. Brooks' Law states that "adding manpower to a late software project makes it later".

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Web developers should always keep in mind the user of the product their creating. Usability becomes increasingly important as applications move to the web. The design and usability of your app can make or break its success. This classic is a must read.

Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software

This classic known most commonly as the "gang of four" book is the definitive reference on design patterns. Covering all of the most common cases and time and time again serving as an invaluable source of information.

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3. Django 1.0 Template Development: Sample Chapter “Serving Multiple Templates”

/* remove firefox link outline */
a { outline: none; }
:-moz-any-link:focus { outline: none; }

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Installing Python 2.5 dependencies

Install sqlite3:

$ wget http://www.sqlite.org/sqlite-amalgamation-3.6.4.tar.gz
$ tar xvfz sqlite-amalgamation-3.6.4
$ cd sqlite-amalgamation-3.6.4.tar.gz
$ ./configure
$ make
$ make install

Install Python 2.5

Download Python 2.5 source package, unzip, and enter working directory:

$ cd
$ wget http://python.org/ftp/python/2.5/Python-2.5.tgz
$ tar xvfz Python-2.5.tgz
$ cd Python-2.5

Configure Python 2.5 so that we're not overwriting the system's python installation:

$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/python2.5 --with-threads --enable-shared

Make and install:

$ make
$ make install

Add an alias to root's .bash_profile:

alias python='/opt/python2.5/bin/python'

Make a symbolic link:

$ ln -s /opt/python2.5/bin/python /usr/bin/python2.5

Configure ld to find your shared libs:

$ cat >> /etc/ld.so.conf.d/opt-python2.5.conf
/opt/python2.5/lib (hit enter)
(hit ctrl-d to return to shell)
$ ldconfig

Test python 2.5 installation:

$ python

You should get an interactive Python 2.5 session like:

Python 2.5 (r25:51908, Nov 9 2008, 23:18:24)
[GCC 4.1.2 20071124 (Red Hat 4.1.2-42)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

>>>

Hit ctrl-d to exit

Install setuptools:

$ cd
$ wget http://pypi.python.org/packages/2.5/s/setuptools/setuptools-0.6c9-py2.5.egg
$ sh setuptools-0.6c9-py2.5.egg --prefix=/opt/python2.5

Install MySQLdb package:

$ cd
$ wget http://internap.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/mysql-python/MySQL-python-1.2.2.tar.gz
$ tar xvfz MySQL-python-1.2.2.tar.gz
$ cd MySQL-python-1.2.2
$ python setup.py build
$ python setup.py install

Verify Python 2.5 Installation:

$ cd
$ python
Python 2.5 (r25:51908, Nov 9 2008, 23:18:24)
[GCC 4.1.2 20071124 (Red Hat 4.1.2-42)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import sqlite3
>>> import MySQLdb
>>>

Installing mod_wsgi

What is mod_wsgi?

The aim of mod_wsgi is to implement a simple to use Apache module which can host any Python application which supports the Python WSGI interface. The module would be suitable for use in hosting high performance production web sites, as well as your average self managed personal sites running on web hosting services.

Why mod_wsgi?

The consensus seems to be that mod_wsgi is the prefered Apache module (as opposed to mod_python). It's stable, less memory intensive, and faster.

Configure mod_wsgi to link with Python 2.5 shared libs:

$ cd /opt/python2.5/lib/python2.5/config
$ ln -s ../../libpython2.5.so .
$ cd
$ wget http://modwsgi.googlecode.com/files/mod_wsgi-2.3.tar.gz
$ tar xvfz mod_wsgi-2.3.tar.gz
$ cd mod_wsgi-2.3
$ ./configure --with-python=/opt/python2.5/bin/python

Make and install:

$ make
$ make install

It’s important to read the mod_wsgi docs on building with shared libs - mod_wsgi should compile to around 250kb.

Confirm that the size of mod_wsgi.so is around 250kb:

$ ls -Al /usr/local/apache/modules/mod_wsgi.so

Add mod_wsgi to Apache 2.x:

With cPanel/WHM you can simply add these lines to your 'Pre-Virtualhost Include' file accessible in WHM:

LoadModule wsgi_module /usr/local/apache/modules/mod_wsgi.so
AddHandler wsgi-script .wsgi

Setup a Django 1.0 test project

Create a new user/domain via WHM/cPanel

Edit users .bash_profile:

alias python='/opt/python2.5/bin/python'
export PYTHONPATH='$PYTHONPATH:/home/username/sites/domain.com'

Create a new project directory:

$ mkdir -p /home/username/sites/domain.com
$ cd /home/username/sites/domain.com
$ svn co http://code.djangoproject.com/svn/django/trunk/ django-trunk
$ ln -s django-trunk/django django
$ mkdir .python-eggs
$ chmod 777 .python-eggs
$ /home/username/sites/domain.com/django/bin/django-admin.py startproject testproject
$ chown -R username: /home/username/sites

Create your apps .wsgi script:

$ pico /home/username/public_html/test.wsgi

#!/opt/python2.5/bin/python
import os, sys
sys.path.insert(0,'/home/username/sites/domain.com')
os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE'] = 'testproject.settings'
os.environ['PYTHON_EGG_CACHE'] = '/home/username/sites/domain.com/.python-eggs'
import django.core.handlers.wsgi
application = django.core.handlers.wsgi.WSGIHandler()

$ chown username: /home/username/public_html/test.wsgi

Setup a vhost include (as root)

$ mkdir -p /usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/username/domain.com
$ pico /usr/local/apache/conf/userdata/std/2/username/domain.com/vhost.conf

<IfModule mod_alias.c>
Alias /robots.txt /home/username/sites/domain.com/testproject/media/robots.txt
Alias /site_media /home/username/sites/domain.com/testproject/media
Alias /admin_media /home/username/sites/domain.com/django/contrib/admin/media
</IfModule>

<IfModule mod_wsgi.c>
# See the link below for an introduction about this mod_wsgi config.
# http://groups.google.com/group/modwsgi/browse_thread/thread/60cb0ec3041ac1bc/2c547b701c4d74aa

WSGIScriptAlias / /home/username/public_html/test.wsgi
WSGIDaemonProcess username processes=7 threads=1 display-name=%{GROUP}
WSGIProcessGroup username
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
</IfModule>

# This fixes the broken ErrorDocument directive we inherit that breaks auth
# if we use a WSGI app.
ErrorDocument 401 "Authentication Error"
ErrorDocument 403 "Forbidden"

$ /scripts/verify_vhost_includes
$ /scripts/ensure_vhost_includes --user=username

domain.com should now be serving a django site.

To restart a django instance:

$ touch ~/public_html/test.wsgi

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2. Ruby On Rails and SliceHost Part 1: Initial Setup
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<a href="#" onclick="callSomeJSFunction();">Click Me</a>

The problem I have often encountered is that clicking the link causes the browser to jump to the top of the page if you have scrolled at all. Users do not like unexpected behavior like this. I sometimes prefer to use a "clickable span" instead:

span.clickable_span{
cursor: pointer;
color: #[whatever your link color is];
}

<span class="clickable_span" onclick="callSomeJSFunction();">Click Me</span>

The span will have the same style as regular link (hand icon when the user mouses over) and the JavaScript function will be called.

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